truly blessed

oh man, am i in trouble! over a week with no updates!! i am surprised i haven't been getting any nasty emails!! i apologize...work is crazy busy and we were in indiana for the weekend so i didn't even look at a computer. i promise to try harder this week.
let me tell you how blessed and lucky my family is...this past weekend, thalia and i flew home to meet up with aunt nikki and uncle toby and drive down to indiana to see his parents with chris, aunt steph and uncle barrett. yes, it was crazy and i am still exhausted, but it was beyond worth it! toby's family is so wonderful and has embraced the mimikos/phillips/wimer clan with open arms. i swear toby's family loves thalia as much as my own! that little girl is one loved munchkin! even toby's grandma couldn't get enough of her! i feel so blessed to have so many people love my daughter across the country. It makes me happy to know that she is going to grow up with such a great support system...maybe that will lessen the damage done by her mom dragging her across the country to see everyone :o) but truly, we had a fantastic time hanging out in bluffton with all the reeds, affolders, and shulls. and "uncle" luke too! i am still surprised that everyone survived having all three mimikos girls in one place for an entire weekend!
thalia is such a trooper, letting me drag her around all the time. although i am pretty sure she likes the attention she gets everywhere we go. she is such a little ham. we have had some major breakthroughs the past few days though. most importantly, thalia has her first tooth! i am not even going to try to get a picture for you, unless she is asleep. that girl is such a goober! every time i try to get her to open her mouth, she sticks her tongue out! if you have seen one picture of thalia you shouldn't be surprised. i think she may be getting a top tooth too. i thought i saw something yesterday but when i tried to get my finger in there to see she squirmed away. i'll keep you posted.
thalia has also been standing up by herself lately. she will pull herself up to standing by the couch and then let go for a minute. it is so cute, but crazy! i mean, she is so tiny and to see her stand by herself, even if just for a few seconds, is just nuts! she'll probably be walking by the time we go to hawaii. although she will only be 10 months, so maybe not. we'll have to wait and see.
on a very happy note, thalia has been sleeping a little bit better the past few nights. she is still waking up to eat, which stinks. but it is every 3 or 4 hours and i am back in the habit of "sleep-nursing" when i don't really wake up fully. and i haven't had to wake up to put her pacifier back in since last week either. i know she should probably be over some of this at 8 months but the poor girl is still adjusting to traveling back and forth every other week. i think she is holding up remarkably well, and probably better than i am!
things are still going better than i thought they were going to. it is always tough playing the waiting game with chris' music. but chris and i have been communicating pretty well lately, which was not always our strong point. it is hard though having to defend my decision. let me say this...i am not delusional; i know that what i am doing is crazy and most people can't fathom being away from their husbands or wives. but this is an opportunity that God gave us and we couldn't pass it up. and yes it is hard, and yes we all miss each other. but thalia says good night to her daddy every night (along with everyone else in our families) and she smiles every time we talk about him. and whatever happens with my job or chris' music, our faith and love are strong enough to get us through to the other side. i know everything will be better than okay. and please don't minimize the role that you all play in our survival with your love, support, and prayers. we are eternally grateful for the families and friends we have, and like i said earlier, we are truly blessed by all of you.
alright, enough sob story (diane reed - wipe your eyes) we love you all and hope that we get to see some of you with the holidays coming up!

much love, more sleep, and lots of sappy insights,
c, c, and t